Google Trusted Stores expands and connects with AdWords

The holiday season is a time of the year when many of us spend hours finding the perfect gifts. It’s also a time when knowing that an online retailer is trustworthy is more important than ever. That’s where Google Trusted Stores comes in - we’re spreading holiday cheer by helping people find the best online stores and shop with confidence.

Google Trusted Stores is a free certification program to highlight retailers that offer a consistently great shopping experience. Qualifying merchants display a badge on their website, and Google stands behind these stores by offering $1,000 of free purchase protection. Since we introduced the program last year, we’ve been working hard to expand it, including launching a new integration with seller ratings on AdWords, updating the badge with more helpful information for shoppers, and broadening store participation around the world.

Shopper feedback powering seller ratings

Google Trusted Stores now helps to power seller ratings, which show on AdWords text ads as well as Product Listing Ads on Google Shopping. This integration provides shoppers with valuable information, while giving participating retailers a free and easy way to earn the ratings they deserve. Advertisers who display seller ratings on their ads typically see a boost in AdWords click-through rates, with higher ratings generally resulting in higher click-through rates.

Providing helpful information at shoppers’ fingertips

In the US, Google Trusted Stores now provides shoppers with an upgraded store performance summary that appears when they hover over the badge on a merchant’s website. The summary includes helpful returns, delivery, and customer support responsiveness metrics provided by StellaService, a company that objectively measures the customer service experience by shopping anonymously at online stores.

More confident shoppers fueling global expansion

Millions of people now see the Google Trusted Stores badge on retailer sites and in Google ads every day. In fact, we’ve more than tripled US store participation in the last year. Because shoppers value the badge, many of these stores are seeing sales growth. For instance, OnlineShoes measured a 4.2% sales increase from the Google Trusted Stores badge, and AutoAnything saw an increase of 5.2%.

Given the great shopper and retailer response in the US, we’ve started to expand Google Trusted Stores around the world. We recently introduced pilot programs in the UK, France, Germany, and Australia, each with a collection of excellent merchants such as Schuh (UK), Spartoo.com (France), PEARL (Germany), and Kogan (Australia). (Note - only shoppers located in a particular country will see the badge for that country.)

Learn more 

To learn more about the program, please visit our website. If you’re a US retailer, you can apply to become a Google Trusted Store. If you are a retailer outside the US, please let us know you’re interested here: UK, France, Germany, Australia.

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!



Posted by Brian Marquardt, Group Product Manager, Google Shopping 

Check off your holiday gift list with Google Shopping

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and if you’re like us, you still have loads of stuff to buy on your expanding holiday gift list. If you can’t imagine braving the crowds to get everything picked and purchased, don’t worry: our elves have made some improvements to Google Shopping in time for the holidays.

Find the hottest toys and get inspired with our holiday shortlists
We’ve curated holiday shortlists for top gift categories including Hot Toys, Electronics, Google & Android Gadgets, Gifts for the Home, Gifts for Her and Gifts for Him. For those of you looking for something to delight the kids in your life, here are some of the top trending toy searches on Google Shopping this month:

• Rainbow Loom
• Minecraft Legos
• Monster High Sets
• Doc McStuffins Playsets
• Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow Blaster

And for those of us wanting to relive our childhoods, we’re also seeing many nostalgic toys making a comeback this year:

• My Little Pony
• Barbie Dreamhouse
• Furby
• Ninja Turtles
• Easy-Bake Oven

Browse more quickly and easily
A new shopping experience on desktop, tablet and mobile makes it easier than ever to browse and hone in on items you want to buy, whether it’s a camera, a ski jacket or an ice cream maker. Click on a product to preview details like sizes, colors and description, and find out if it’s available at a nearby local store. If you see an item that’s almost perfect but not quite, click to view “visually similar” items.

Make your shortlist and check it twice
Shortlists help you keep track of products that catch your eye, compare them at a glance, and share ideas with friends and family. Your shortlist now also stays with you at the top of each page while you browse Google Shopping, so you can keep track of items as you go.

Check out the product from all angles
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what an item actually looks like from the online picture. Now, for many items on Google Shopping, you can see a 360° view of the products. These interactive images bring you the in-store feeling of holding and touching a product.

Once you’ve got something for everyone on your shopping list, we encourage you to buy something for yourself. You’ve earned it.


Posted by Karen Corby, Senior Product Manager, Google Shopping

Receive money with Google Wallet. Spend instantly with the Google Wallet Card.

Your roommate finally paid you back for dinner through Google Wallet, and you want to use that money right away to pay for groceries this week. Now, you can use the new Google Wallet Card to spend the money instantly, either by purchasing in stores or by withdrawing cash at ATMs, without having to wait for money to transfer from your Google Wallet Balance to your bank account. The Google Wallet Card is a debit card that lets you quickly access your Wallet Balance, whether you’ve received it from a friend or added it directly from a linked bank account or credit/debit card.

With the Google Wallet Card, you can:

• Spend anywhere. Use your Wallet Balance to shop and pay in stores by swiping your card at millions of MasterCard® locations.
• Get cash at ATMs. Withdraw money from your Wallet Balance at ATMs. Some ATM providers may charge you a fee for cash withdrawals.
• Receive instant notifications when you spend money. Get instant notifications right on your phone to help you  keep tabs on all of your transactions.
• Be free of annual or monthly fees. You can order the Google Wallet Card for free, and there are no annual or monthly service fees to use the card.

Get the Google Wallet Card
You can order the new Google Wallet Card for free right inside the latest version of the Google Wallet app for Android and iPhone. Or, you can order it from your Google Wallet account. The card is currently available for use in the US.

To learn more about the Google Wallet Card, visit our website.

And don’t forget, there are many ways of spending your Wallet Balance in addition to spending it with the Google Wallet Card. You can use your Wallet Balance to send money to friends, purchase on Google Play, YouTube and other products, tap and pay in stores, or transfer money to your bank account.

Holiday rewards and more with the Google Wallet app
The Google Wallet app also helps you shop and save. As we shared earlier today, you can instantly join new loyalty programs such as Amtrak Guest Rewards®, Avis Rental Cars, California Pizza Kitchen, Orbitz, The Body Shop, and Walgreens from the app. For a limited time, you’ll even get exclusive bonus rewards from many of these merchants, such as $30 in Orbucks from Orbitz, a free small plate and dessert from California Pizza Kitchen or $15 off of your next weekend rental with Avis. Also, with the latest version of the Android app, you can tap and pay in stores with more phones. Check here to see if your phone supports Google Wallet tap and pay.

Posted by Sandra Mariano, Product Manager, Google Wallet

12/4/2013 UPDATE: Now you can also get the Google Wallet Card directly from the latest version of the Google Wallet app for iPhone to instantly spend your Wallet Balance in stores or withdraw cash at ATMs.

New holiday savings and loyalty rewards with Google Wallet

With the Google Wallet app on Android and iPhone, you can easily send money on the go, store all your loyalty cards, save money through offers, and view your Google Wallet activity – all in one place.

To bring a little more holiday cheer, we’ve teamed up with new, top brands for even more great ways to help you shop, save money and earn rewards this busy season.

‘Tis the season for giving – and receiving exclusive loyalty rewards!
Give yourself a gift this holiday by leaving no loyalty point behind. Add all of your existing loyalty programs into the Google Wallet app by scanning the barcodes or entering your membership IDs. You can also easily join new programs from right within the app, especially handy when you’re out and about shopping. For a limited time, get a special holiday bonus for linking your membership or signing up with these top brands; download the Google Wallet app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store to get started:

$30 in Orbucks	Save $15	100 bonus points
Free small plate & dessert	Earn points easily	$2 reward
	50 bonus points

Terms and conditions apply. Please see individual merchant websites for more information.

Deck the halls with online savings, click “Buy with Google” 
You can also easily shop on many of your favorite mobile sites and Android apps. Simply select the “Buy with Google” button at checkout and make your purchase in as few as 2 clicks. To help fill the stockings, select brands are offering some exclusive holiday deals when you buy with Google. From gifts and goodies to great escapes, shop and save on these mobile sites or apps:

20% off hotels  (Android app)	$20 off  (Mobile site)	$10 off  (Android app)
$5 off  (Android app)	$10 in Rakuten  Super Points™ (Mobile site)	5% off (Mobile site)

You can also speed through checkout on many other popular Android apps and mobile sites, such as: Hipmunk Hotels & Flights, Karmaloop, Parking Panda ($5 off) and PLNDR. 

To learn more about Google Wallet, please visit our website. For the latest updates, please subscribe to our +Page.

Happy holidays from Google Wallet! 


Posted by Sofia Buschmann, Product Marketing, Google Wallet

Same-Day Delivery from Costco now available on Google Shopping Express

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Costco members in the San Francisco Bay Area can now get their favorite items delivered same-day with Google Shopping Express. Whether shopping for festive table settings, fresh linens for the guest room, or last minute items for the big celebration, with Google Shopping Express, you can order your holiday essentials online--or on your Android or iPhone--and spend time with your loved ones instead of braving the crowds.

With the same prices online as in-store, plus six-months of free same-day delivery*, Google Shopping Express is a great way to access the value and quality for which Costco is known.

Stock up on holiday essentials that are bulky, heavy and hard to schlep: a 12-pack of sparkling water to wash down the turkey, stacks of napkins to wipe up the inevitable gravy spill, or even a new set of speakers so that you can hear every audible of the weekend’s football games in crystal clear sound.

Try it today

Want to give it a try? Sign-up today to get six months of free, unlimited same-day delivery from Costco and other great stores like Whole Foods Market, Target, and L’Occitane. And, because everyone loves a gift around the holiday, we’re giving you $5 off** your first order. To get started, visit google.com/shopexpress.

Happy shopping!

Posted by Brian Elliott, Head of Partnerships, Google Shopping Express

*Six-months of free delivery. Your account must be in good standing to remain eligible. Offer expires 12/31/2013. For complete terms and conditions see g.co/shopexpressterms.

**$5 off first purchase. Your account must be in good standing to remain eligible. See here, for complete terms and conditions.

Making it Easier to Find and Book Hotels From Your Phone

When you need a hotel or when wanderlust strikes, why wait until you get back to your computer to start planning your next trip? Hotel Finder now makes it easier to find and book a hotel right from your phone.

Tip:  Good deals on hotels are highlighted in green.

On your phone, go to www.google.com/hotels and search for your destination. You can filter the search results by price, hotel class, user rating and distance. Select a hotel to learn more: photos, hotel amenities, reviews and its location on a map can all be conveniently accessed from the same page. You can also save hotels that appeal to you into a short list for easy comparison by pressing the star.

Once you find the perfect match, you can quickly book your hotel through any of our booking partners.

To save you more time, you can also complete the reservation with a few clicks using Google Wallet: Just look for the “Buy with Google” icon for a booking partner that allows you to easily and securely pay with Google Wallet. This will leave you more time to worry about what to pack.

If you don’t have a Google Wallet account, don’t worry. You only need to enter the payment details once when booking your first hotel. Google Wallet saves your information securely so you don’t need to re-enter it every time.

Hotel Finder is available on your smartphones and desktop in more than 100 countries. The Google Wallet booking feature is currently available in the U.S. for stays within the country, but we hope to expand more broadly soon. To learn more, please visit our help page.

Posted by Maciek Nowakowski, Product Manager, Google Hotel Finder

With Google Play services 4.0, US Android developers can now try out Google Wallet Instant Buy API

Cross-posted from the Android Developer Blog
Today we're launching a new release of Google Play services. Version 4.0 includes the Google Mobile Ads SDK, and offers improvements to geofencing, Google+, and Google Wallet Instant Buy APIs.

With over 97% of devices now running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or newer platform versions, we’re dropping support for Froyo from this release of the Google Play services SDK in order to make it possible to offer more powerful APIs in the future. That means you will not be able to utilize these new APIs on devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo).

We’re still in the process of rolling out to Android devices across the world, but you can already download the latest Google Play services SDK and start developing against the new APIs using the new Android 4.4 (KitKat) emulator.

Google Mobile Ads

If you’re using AdMob to monetize your apps, the new Google Mobile Ads SDK in Google Play services helps provide seamless improvements to your users. For example, bug fixes get pushed automatically to users without you having to do anything. Check out the post on the Google Ads Developer Blog for more details.

Maps and Location Based Services

The Maps and Geofencing APIs that launched in Google Play services 3.1 have been updated to improve overall battery efficiency and responsiveness.

You can save power by requesting larger latency values for notifications alerting your app to users entering or exiting geofences, or request that entry alerts are sent only after a user stays within a geofence for a specified period of time. Setting generous dwell times helps to eliminate unwanted notifications when a user passes near a geofence or their location is seen to move across a boundary.

The Maps API enhances map customization features, letting you specify marker opacity, fade-in effects, and visibility of 3D buildings. It’s also now possible to change ground overlay images.

Google+ and Google Wallet Instant Buy

Apps that are enabled with Google+ Sign-In will be updated with a simplified sign-in consent dialog. Google Wallet Instant Buy APIs are now available to everyone to try out within a sandbox, with a simplified API that streamlines the buy-flow and reduces integration time.

Google Wallet Instant Buy also includes new Wallet Objects, which means you can award loyalty points to a user's saved rewards program ID for each applicable Google Wallet Instant Buy purchase.

New user control over advertising identifier

To give users better controls and to provide you with a simple, standard system to continue to monetize your apps, this update contains a new, anonymous identifier for advertising purposes (to be used in place of Android ID). Google Settings now includes user controls that enable users to reset this identifier, or opt out of interest-based ads for Google Play apps.

More About Google Play Services

To learn more about Google Play services and the APIs available to you through it, visit the Google Services area of the Android Developers site.